Reluctantly Famous (11 page)

Fuck, if I hurt her, I’ll never forgive
myself.

“
No.” Allie sniffs, trying
to pull her chin free from my grasp.

“
Stop. I want to know why
you’re so upset.”

Her lip trembles and her eyes dart off to
the side, refusing to meet mine. Reluctantly, I let go of her.
“We’re discussing this. Let’s get dressed and I’ll make coffee,
okay?”

She nods but doesn’t say anything.

Frustrated and upset, I snatch up my
clothes, storming into the bathroom to put them on. Once I’m
dressed, I brace my hands on the edge of the sink, staring at
myself in the mirror wondering what the fuck just happened. I
splash some water on my face, hoping it will help my calm down. It
won’t do me any good to be pissed off if I want Allie to open up to
me.

By the time I collect myself and exit the
bathroom, Allie’s clothes are gone and so is she. The clattering of
dishes in the kitchen lets me know she’s already working on the
coffee that I said I would make.

Allie slides a mug across the large island
as soon as I pad barefoot into the room. She keeps her gaze down,
suddenly fascinated with something in her cup.

“
Thanks.” I watch her
carefully, looking for any sign of impending tears. Her eyes are
rimmed with red, otherwise she looks normal. Not happy, or sad,
just… there. Numb.

“
I’m sorry for losing it
back there,” she says quietly.

“
Can we sit in the living
room?”

Allie shrugs as if she doesn’t care, but I
see the quick flash of nervousness cross her face. She follows me
over to the large couch. I leave my coffee in the kitchen, too
queasy to drink it. All I want is an explanation, to know that I
didn’t fuck this up somehow.

I sit down, frowning when Allie takes a seat
farther away from me than I’d like.

“
Tell me what’s wrong,” I
urge, using as composed a voice as I can manage.

“
I-I, it’s not something I
like to talk about.” She keeps looking down, now staring at a spot
on the couch.

Fuck this.

I move closer to her, yet allow a small
amount of space between us. “Allie, please, I’m freaking the fuck
out. We make love and your response is to cry? Tell me, because I’m
imagining the worst right now. Did I hurt you?”

Her green eyes finally meet mine. They’re
dull, the vibrant spark from earlier is gone.

“
It’s not you, Dex. It’s
just hard to talk about. I’ve never… I’ve never actually told
anyone this before.”

I wait, giving her time to process her
thoughts. The trust she gave me earlier is nothing compared to what
she’s about to say, I can see that. If she needs a few minutes,
then that’s what she’ll get.

She inhales deeply, “That was only the
second time I’ve ever had sex. And, it’s the only time I can
actually remember it.”

My mind tries to sort out what she’s saying,
but it doesn’t add up. “I don’t understand,” I admit.

“
Dex, in college, I went
on a date. He drugged me and raped me. I only knew because of,” her
voice cracks, “because of the evidence, you know. I was a virgin.”
Her cheeks are blotchy with embarrassment at her admission. She was
raped and she’s fucking embarrassed?

All of the blood in my body rushes out of my
face. Innocent Allie. Drugged. Raped. A swirling pit of anger
unlike anything I’ve ever felt starts to build in my gut, roiling
and growing until I’m clenching my jaw just to stop myself from
screaming.

“
So, I wasn’t crying
because of you or what we did, Dex. It was more like I finally felt
like maybe I could move on. Like maybe I’ve gotten rid of the
paralyzing fear that’s been keeping me from living my life, from
getting close to anyone. I was happy and sad at the same time. It
was… cathartic, I guess.”

Her confession leaves me speechless. As much
as I want to rant about how unfair it is that someone used her,
that they had the power to keep her from enjoying a normal life, I
can’t bring myself to do it. She doesn’t need rage, she needs
comfort. I hold out my arms, an invitation. To show her that she’s
safe with me, she can trust me with her secrets.

“
Dex.” Allie rocks
forward, throwing herself into my embrace.

“
It’s okay, Al. I’m here
for you. No matter what.” I murmur into her thick hair, tightening
my grip on her small frame. “You can let yourself fall now. I’ll
always be here to catch you.”

A small sob vibrates against my neck. I know
that it’s not about me as much as it is about her reconciling her
old life with her new one. One where she can love and trust someone
and receive it back unconditionally.

I hold her until the quiet cries end, her
body relaxed against mine. Gently, I frame her face with my hands,
tilting her head until we’re eye-to-eye, shimmering green to my
determined blue.

“
You’re the bravest person
I know, Al. That’s not an easy thing to overcome. I’m in awe of
you.”

She sniffs, tears still drying on her
cheeks, eyes red from crying. But the corner of her mouth quirks
up. Just a fraction, yet enough to send a warm shiver down my
spine.

“
Thanks Dex,” she
whispers. “Sometimes I feel so weak.”

“
No way are you weak,
baby. Now, tell me who did it so I can kick their fucking
ass.”

“
You’re just so great. I
mean, I really loved you in the first
Stranger
movie.”

“
Huh? Oh, thanks. I
appreciate that.” The eager woman is practically bouncing in front
of me, her friends giggling nearby.

I twist my head around, scanning the crowd
for Allie. She refused to tell me the name of the bastard who raped
her. I didn’t really expect her to but it stung nevertheless. The
urge to protect her, to protect what’s mine, coils deep inside me.
A primal instinct that I’ll never be able to control.

“
Dex, you okay
man?”

Ryker puts his hand on my shoulder, his
brows pinched together in confusion.

“
Yeah, I’m fine.” I keep
checking the room, looking for a glimpse of my girl.

He scowls, knowing I’m full of shit, but he
lets it slide. This charity function for Allie’s family charity is
filled with
Quantum Stranger
fans. Fans who want photos with
Ryker and me, keeping me from where I want to be. Right next to
Allie, available for her to lean on if she needs someone. Not
someone, me. Only me. I want her to need me.

“
Hey, there you
are.”

Leah strides right over to our tightly
packed posse of fawning fans, expertly maneuvering herself next to
Ry.

“
Hello gorgeous,” Ryker
says.

I’m about to roll my eyes at the two of
them, but catch myself. I’d be doing the same thing if Allie came
over here. There’s no doubt in my mind.

“
We need you boys for a
few minutes,” Leah interrupts. “You don’t mind, right ladies?” She
doesn’t bother waiting for an answer. Instead, she takes one of our
hands in each of hers and pulls us into a small, private dining
room off of the main area.

Grateful, I turn to Leah. “Thank you for
doing that. Those women…”

I stop dead in my tracks. My girl is here
waiting for me. She’s stunning in a floor-length, shimmering
cream-colored gown. Her dark hair stands out like a cascade of ink
against the light fabric.

“
Hey beautiful.” I cross
the room, wrapping my arms around her waist and dropping my head
for a kiss.

Allie happily obliges, opening her mouth
when I run my tongue along the seam of her lips. She sucks on my
tongue, drawing it into her mouth with strong, steady pulls. After
minutes, hours, days… who’s counting? She pulls away.

“
You ready to get out of
here,” she whispers breathlessly.

“
Fuck yes. I thought you’d
never ask.”

“
Bye guys.” Allie says,
waving to Ryker and Leah as I grab her hand. I tug her out of the
small room and back into the main party. “I just have to say bye to
Drew and my parents first.”

“
Lead the way.” Not
releasing my hold on her, she weaves first through the throng of
partygoers. I follow behind dutifully, eager to find everyone she
needs to speak to so we can get back to her place and get
naked.

It only takes a minute to find Drew, his arm
slung around Sydney’s shoulders possessively. I snort under my
breath at his blatant display of ownership. Then I realize that
I’ve pretty much been doing the same thing to Allie all night. At
least, when I haven’t been surrounded by admirers.

“
Okay, that’s everyone. We
can leave.” Allie’s eyes meet mine and my dick takes notice of the
lustful gleam. She skims her tongue across her lips, dropping her
eyes to laser focus in on my mouth.

“
Shit, okay. Let’s go.” I
pray we can make it to the car before anyone notices the tight fit
of my pants across my groin. “I can’t wait to get you naked,” I
whisper in her ear.

Allie smiles and nods, turning towards the
door. We make it all the way to the spacious lobby when she
suddenly digs in her heels. I just about knock her tiny frame to
the ground, having to grab her arm to steady her on those damn
stiletto shoes she’s wearing.

“
Why did you stop?” I make
sure she’s not going to fall before I release her, moving my hand
down to her lower back. “Al?”

Her face is deathly pale, her mouth gaping
open in shock. I follow her line of sight across the lobby to see
the Patriots new wide receiver, decked out in a tuxedo, staring at
her curiously.

He walks over to us with the cocky sureness
of someone used to being the center of attention, stopping right in
front of Allie. The predatory gleam in his eyes sends a streak of
jealousy down my spine. He’s not huge, in fact he’s not very big at
all. Troy White is known for his speed and maneuverability as a
wide receiver, not his size.

“
Hello Allie. It’s been a
long time. You look great.”

The fucker sweeps his greedy eyes up and
down her body. I feel her shudder under my touch. She doesn’t
respond to him. Her mouth slams shut into a tight line. I notice
the shimmer of tears build up in her eyes. Flicking my gaze back
and forth between them, I struggle to name the emotion charging the
space.

Not lust, not on her part at least.

“
Hi, I’m Declan Foster,
Allie’s boyfriend.” I stick my hand out, still trying to figure out
what the fuck is going on. Whatever it is, it has me really damn
uncomfortable.

“
Troy White. Nice to meet
you.” His face clearly betrays his words. He’s not happy to see me
here, in fact, he looks pissed. “So Allie, what have you been up to
these last few years?”

A soft whimper escapes from her throat. She
doesn’t seem to be aware of making the sound.

Once again, I look back and forth between
Troy and Allie, my mind scrambling to make the connection. When I
finally do, it takes all of my concentration to make sure I’m right
instead of just pounding on his face like I desperately want
to.

“
Didn’t you go to Boston
College?” I ask him.

He turns to me, giving me a big fake grin.
“Yes I did. That’s actually how I met Allie.”

She stiffens beneath my hand, subtly moving
closer until she’s tucked up under my arm. Allie only went to B.C.
for one semester, her first semester. Her reaction to Troy, his
cocksure attitude, the knowledge that he knew her when she went
through an event that nearly destroyed all faith she had in
humanity… it all points to one thing.

“
You,” I hiss, shifting
Allie behind me as I step up to face Troy. “You fucking
bastard.”

“
Dex.” Allie croaks from
somewhere nearby. Her small hand wraps around my arm. I shake her
off angrily.

“
No. I’m going to take
this asshole’s head off,” I snarl.

“
Dex, please.”

Troy throws his head back and laughs,
completely unintimidated by my threat.

The anger boils over. I don’t care that he’s
twice my size or that his hands are bigger than my head. I’m going
to fucking kill him. “You sick fuck.”

He’s still laughing as I pull my fist back,
ready to land it right in the middle of his smug fucking face.
Before I can throw a punch, a loud crack reverberates throughout
the room.

Allie is standing between Troy and me, her
arm across her chest, palm flat. Troy’s eyes are blazing with
anger. He reaches up to massage a deep red handprint that begins to
develop along one cheek.

She fucking slapped him. I’m astonished, yet
proud as fuck.

“
Fuck you,” she spits at
the stunned man. “Dex, let’s get out of here. If Drew sees this,
he’ll know and then my brother will end up in jail.”

I can’t help but smirk at the bastard as we
step around him. He watches us leave, his eyes narrowed, his hand
still touching his face.

We climb into the limo, settling against the
soft leather. The car pulls into Boston traffic right as the Fourth
of July fireworks begin shooting off over the nearby Charles River.
They boom and pop, sending showers of color into the night sky. I
take Allie’s hand and kiss her palm. It’s red and probably painful
from laying that monster slap on Troy’s face.

With the backdrop of fireworks sounding off
like cannons, I skim a thumb along Allie’s cheek, gently caressing
her soft skin.

“
I’m so fucking proud of
you, Al. I love you.”